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Dear Stephen: The Actual End of STO
picardcrusher
Member Posts: 101 Arc User
When I first coined the term "the Golden Age of STO" to describe november of 2010, I had hoped that it would not turn out to be a true description, and hadn't realized how long the hope of seeing it again would keep me interested in this game. It would seem that time has come to an end.
I wanted to start by expressing kudos for much of what has occurred since my last letter; when you re-took the Captain's chair. The changes to the game have all (with the exception of the Beam overload nerf) been respectful of existing builds/investment. The new gear and mods introduced with crafting added to the game without making old gear obsolete. Many things, like the changes to the rep system, seemed to address the issue of futility in the general experience of STO. This became less of a destraction from an otherwise excellent and tactically fascinating game.
:cool:
Of course Delta Rising more than reverses all of that. No one in my fleet wants tier 6. No one. Sure, people think this or that new idea might be nice. But given a choice people would rather not see any of this stuff unless upgrading is automatic, free, complete, and applies to all Mk XII gear and tier 5 ships. I'm not the only one who's planning on leaving. PWE needs to rethink its financing model, because all of these people would rather stay and pay for a good Star Trek game.
So here are my suggestions:
1) No difference between tier 5U and tier 6 ships.
- They automatically get ALL the "bells and whistles". All upgrades for free on all mk12 gear and ships as we level. Pay for Delta Rising content with Zen as a package for access. Allow access to Delta Rising to those who buy the package OR to subscribers and lifers who contribute 500 Zen each month until they match the cost of the package (at which point the access is permanent). FIX the heaven cursed bug where I only get my Zen stipend THREE out of every FIVE months!!! (insert "this close to calling the police" rage here).
2) End Dev hostility to alts.
- Sto combat is so rich that I want to play each type of captain in each type of ship for each type of faction... and then a few more to spare, so say about 30 toons... but the devs are always in the way. I suspect you fear the economics of farming, but this need not be an issue if the economy was restructured to be by account and according to the total time you play on the account rather than on any one character. For example the daily dilithium refinement could be 40K per acount rather than 8k per toon. Loot drops could be restructured so that just playing earns the same as a trip to the fed farm a dozen times in a row. Everyone would represent the same impact on the economy regardless of how many alts they wanted. You should make gear bound by account, but there is room for some gear being bound by character and then have an option that allows the bind to "loosen" to an account bind on payment of a portion of the original item's dilithium cost (say ten percent?). These changes would alter the current situation where the game is financed by selling ships and gear, but players are punished for buying a lot of it.
:eek: Yet the problem is more pervasive. The current proposal for endless skill trees means that no alt will ever be competitive with a toon that has less time invested. It will turn STO into E*E, and that is something I don't want to be a part of. The only way the endless skill tree idea works is if experience is gained by account and skill points are added across all alts as account experience goes up.
3) Rules Stability or total flexibility of character design.
- When I first suggested the idea of upgradable ships back in february of 2010, I had been thinking about customization and how nice it would be for developing my characters. But that was before I was aware of the dev's obsession with making continual and seemingly pointless changes to the rules. What your customers want is NO new combat systems, because these invalidate our work and sense of accomplishment when builds are broken. Current plans to add continual skill tree specialization are also hostile to main characters because increased specialization equates with increased vulnerability, due to ongoing alteration of the rules of the game. A specialized build is just one that will be made obsolete before you can finish it. This can only be countered if the characters can be totally and freely modified to adapt their skills, traits, gear and even ship choices at will according to some system that rates them for current investment.
Character development and suspension of disbelieve are rather difficult in a universe where the laws of physics change every thursday morning.
4) Balanced ship consoles.
- Instead of adding a single normal console to tier 5u / 6 ships, and the balance issues that result from even more extreme layouts (6 tac consoles? 5 was a bad choice), I would like to propose the addition of two universal only consoles. One would appear at level 55 and one more at level 60. There is room on the display for universal only slots, and these slots would allow for increased player interest due to tactical flexibility and customization. It would also result in increased sale of universal consoles.
It's sad that company policy has placed you in a position where you have had to try and finance the game as outlined. But there is no way I will be paying Zen to "upgrade" my oddessy package or scimitar package or my fleet ships or any of the others to tier 6, let alone to some inferior tier 5U. It's not too late to just say no. Many people have heralded the end of STO and been wrong. But for me and many others this really will be the end if Delta Rising procedes even remotely as outlined. No tinkering will fix what you have proposed, only a complete rejection of the financing model in its entirety.
I'll pop in and enjoy the new content, wont upgrade anything, and await the day this game is no longer supported. Then I will enjoy the content without feeling like I am a hampster running in a wheel. My pvp days are over though, and with them my concern for the continuance of the game.
Best Wishes.
P-C
I wanted to start by expressing kudos for much of what has occurred since my last letter; when you re-took the Captain's chair. The changes to the game have all (with the exception of the Beam overload nerf) been respectful of existing builds/investment. The new gear and mods introduced with crafting added to the game without making old gear obsolete. Many things, like the changes to the rep system, seemed to address the issue of futility in the general experience of STO. This became less of a destraction from an otherwise excellent and tactically fascinating game.
:cool:
Of course Delta Rising more than reverses all of that. No one in my fleet wants tier 6. No one. Sure, people think this or that new idea might be nice. But given a choice people would rather not see any of this stuff unless upgrading is automatic, free, complete, and applies to all Mk XII gear and tier 5 ships. I'm not the only one who's planning on leaving. PWE needs to rethink its financing model, because all of these people would rather stay and pay for a good Star Trek game.
So here are my suggestions:
1) No difference between tier 5U and tier 6 ships.
- They automatically get ALL the "bells and whistles". All upgrades for free on all mk12 gear and ships as we level. Pay for Delta Rising content with Zen as a package for access. Allow access to Delta Rising to those who buy the package OR to subscribers and lifers who contribute 500 Zen each month until they match the cost of the package (at which point the access is permanent). FIX the heaven cursed bug where I only get my Zen stipend THREE out of every FIVE months!!! (insert "this close to calling the police" rage here).
2) End Dev hostility to alts.
- Sto combat is so rich that I want to play each type of captain in each type of ship for each type of faction... and then a few more to spare, so say about 30 toons... but the devs are always in the way. I suspect you fear the economics of farming, but this need not be an issue if the economy was restructured to be by account and according to the total time you play on the account rather than on any one character. For example the daily dilithium refinement could be 40K per acount rather than 8k per toon. Loot drops could be restructured so that just playing earns the same as a trip to the fed farm a dozen times in a row. Everyone would represent the same impact on the economy regardless of how many alts they wanted. You should make gear bound by account, but there is room for some gear being bound by character and then have an option that allows the bind to "loosen" to an account bind on payment of a portion of the original item's dilithium cost (say ten percent?). These changes would alter the current situation where the game is financed by selling ships and gear, but players are punished for buying a lot of it.
:eek: Yet the problem is more pervasive. The current proposal for endless skill trees means that no alt will ever be competitive with a toon that has less time invested. It will turn STO into E*E, and that is something I don't want to be a part of. The only way the endless skill tree idea works is if experience is gained by account and skill points are added across all alts as account experience goes up.
3) Rules Stability or total flexibility of character design.
- When I first suggested the idea of upgradable ships back in february of 2010, I had been thinking about customization and how nice it would be for developing my characters. But that was before I was aware of the dev's obsession with making continual and seemingly pointless changes to the rules. What your customers want is NO new combat systems, because these invalidate our work and sense of accomplishment when builds are broken. Current plans to add continual skill tree specialization are also hostile to main characters because increased specialization equates with increased vulnerability, due to ongoing alteration of the rules of the game. A specialized build is just one that will be made obsolete before you can finish it. This can only be countered if the characters can be totally and freely modified to adapt their skills, traits, gear and even ship choices at will according to some system that rates them for current investment.
Character development and suspension of disbelieve are rather difficult in a universe where the laws of physics change every thursday morning.4) Balanced ship consoles.
- Instead of adding a single normal console to tier 5u / 6 ships, and the balance issues that result from even more extreme layouts (6 tac consoles? 5 was a bad choice), I would like to propose the addition of two universal only consoles. One would appear at level 55 and one more at level 60. There is room on the display for universal only slots, and these slots would allow for increased player interest due to tactical flexibility and customization. It would also result in increased sale of universal consoles.
It's sad that company policy has placed you in a position where you have had to try and finance the game as outlined. But there is no way I will be paying Zen to "upgrade" my oddessy package or scimitar package or my fleet ships or any of the others to tier 6, let alone to some inferior tier 5U. It's not too late to just say no. Many people have heralded the end of STO and been wrong. But for me and many others this really will be the end if Delta Rising procedes even remotely as outlined. No tinkering will fix what you have proposed, only a complete rejection of the financing model in its entirety.
I'll pop in and enjoy the new content, wont upgrade anything, and await the day this game is no longer supported. Then I will enjoy the content without feeling like I am a hampster running in a wheel. My pvp days are over though, and with them my concern for the continuance of the game.
Best Wishes.
P-C
Nerfing is Fraud...
Post edited by picardcrusher on
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This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I think the doom thread isn't focusing enough on alternate economics. If we want the new content then we need to pay for it... just not like they are doing it now.
Nerfing is Fraud...
You're short sighted and your suggestions would will ruin STO years faster than anything presented by the Devs. Maybe you should leave STO now and try another game.
Second...so you basically want all of your power with no cost to you at all? Who knows if they will balance things or just contribute to the power creep (hoping the former)
Third...so basically you want this to be unlike every other mmo out there when it gets a level increase...WoW is coming out with a expansion soon and there is a level increase like with all of them...well guess what? New gear!
Just seems like a long winded speech in the end = gimme gimme gimme for free and not effort!
What's my position?
That people should know what they're screaming about!
(paraphrased from "The Newsroom)
And this is why comcast gets away with the **** it does.
Agreed they have no obligation. The only concern for them is to make as much as possible for their owners. The only question is whether the current way is going to make more than some other way.
I'm perfectly happy to pay for some other way... as things stand now I pay nothing for a game continuously financed by people who love opening lockboxes. I'm just suggesting a different means of paying for the game that would actually get my money, because it would give me more of what I want (content) and less of what I dislike and won't pay for (grinding).
Oh ... and Stephen is Stephen D'Angelo... who has done a generally good job given his circumstances IMO.
Nerfing is Fraud...
Easy to do since Cryptic's forum staff has been busy merging them all into the announcement comment thread.
1) Doom thread is listed in the FCT and isn't either the T5u or T6 thread.
2) I'm actually a staff member of PWE not cryptic.
3) Since this pretty much is going on about T5u and T6 threads, doom predictions, wanting stuff for free, etc I'm just going to close this thread now as I'd have to tear the first post all to shreads to place it into the proper areas.
Former Community Moderator, Former SSR DJ, Now Full time father to two kids, Husband, Retail Worker.
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